Clustering patients on the basis of their individual course of low back pain over a six month period

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Published online 2011 May 17. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-12-99

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Table 3

Comparing the clusters in this study with subgroups in previous studies on patients with LBP

Langworthy [34]	Chen [35]	Tamcan [36]	Dunn [38]	Kongsted [5]	This study
Constant pain	Continous high	Severe persistent	Severe chronic

		Moderate persistent			Cluster 4

		Mild persistent	Mild persistent	Unchanged, improves thereafter	Clusters 1 & 3

Fluctuating pain	Fluctuating	Fluctuating	Fluctuating	Improved, Fluctuates thereafter	Cluster 3 Cluster 1

			Recovering	Improved, remains so	Cluster 2

	Large reduction				Cluster 4